6.5 x 55 mm
Encyclopedia
6.5×55mm or 6.5×55mm SE (also known as 6.5×55mm Krag, 6.5×55mm Swedish Mauser or 6,5×55mm Mauser) is a rifle
cartridge
developed in 1891 for use in the new rifles then under consideration by the Swedish-Norwegian Kingdom
. The two nations had independent armies. Consequently, the normal procedure at that time was for their respective governments to use the same ammunition and then purchase small arms of their choice. Norway adopted the Krag-Jørgensen
rifle, while Sweden adopted a Mauser
rifle design. The cartridge has a smaller bullet diameter and lower recoil than other full-power rifle cartridges, but thanks in part to its roomy case and heavy bullet has proven more successful than other first-generation smokeless-powder military cartridges of similar size such as the 6×60mm US Navy
, 6.5×54mm Mannlicher-Schönauer
, 6.5×53mm Dutch Mannlicher, 6.5×52mm Carcano and 6.5×50mm Arisaka.
(156 grain
) long round-nosed bullet (B-projectile) with a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s (2300 ft/s), while later rounds (from 1941 onwards) used a 9.1 gram (140 grain) spitzer
bullet (D-projectile) with a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s (2625 ft/s).
rifle and in the Madsen machine gun
, as well as in several prototype self-loading rifles.
In Swedish service, the 6.5×55mm cartridge was used in the Model 1894 carbine
, the Model 1896
and Model 1938 rifles, the Ag m/42
semi-automatic rifle
. It also used in several light and medium machine guns such as the Browning BAR, Kg/1940 Light machine gun
, Bren Gun, FN MAG
, Browning M1917, Browning M1919 and Schwarzlose. The FN MAG was eventually returned to it's original 7.62×51mm NATO
calibre when the Swedish armed forces switched to that cartridge as its standard during the post-World War II era.
and moose
in Scandinavia, while in Canada and the United States it is used for taking deer and other medium-sized game. Sportsmen who favor the round laud the combination of low recoil coupled with the cartridge's inherent accuracy and superb penetrative qualities.
European rifle makers including Sauer, Blaser CZ
, Steyr
and Mauser
offer sporting rifles chambered for this cartridge, as does the Finnish arms manufacturer SAKO/Tikka, while ammunition manufacturers such as Norma
, Lapua
and Hornady
offer loadings of the 6.5×55mm round that are designed for use only in modern hunting rifles that can tolerate higher chamber pressures. These modern loadings should never be used in older military rifles.
The cartridge is also used in the Sauer 200 STR
(Scandinavian Target Rifle).
The 6.5×55mm cartridge was widely used in biathlon
competition until 1975 (when it was replaced by the .22 Long Rifle
(.22 LR) rimfire cartridge), because of its inherent accuracy and historical popularity with the Scandinavian nations who have dominated this sport.
The CIP
MAP for the 6.5 × 55 is 380 MPa (55000 PSI). SAAMI
MAP for this cartridge is 46,000 CUP
or 51000 PSI
. All Swedish Mauser actions were proof-tested with a single 6.5 × 55mm proof load developing approximately 55,000 CUP (66,000 psi).
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
developed in 1891 for use in the new rifles then under consideration by the Swedish-Norwegian Kingdom
Union between Sweden and Norway
The Union between Sweden and Norway , officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, consisted of present-day Sweden and Norway between 1814 and 1905, when they were united under one monarch in a personal union....
. The two nations had independent armies. Consequently, the normal procedure at that time was for their respective governments to use the same ammunition and then purchase small arms of their choice. Norway adopted the Krag-Jørgensen
Krag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
rifle, while Sweden adopted a Mauser
Swedish Mauser
"Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5x55mm cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. These are the m/94 carbine, m/96 long rifle, m/38 short rifle and m/41 sniper...
rifle design. The cartridge has a smaller bullet diameter and lower recoil than other full-power rifle cartridges, but thanks in part to its roomy case and heavy bullet has proven more successful than other first-generation smokeless-powder military cartridges of similar size such as the 6×60mm US Navy
6mm Lee Navy
The 6mm Lee Navy aka 6mm U.S.N. is an obsolete American rifle cartridge. It was the service cartridge of the United States Navy and Marine Corps from 1895, officially replacing the .45-70 Government round, and was the first small-bore high-velocity smokeless powder cartridge to be adopted by...
, 6.5×54mm Mannlicher-Schönauer
6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schönauer
The 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schönauer also known as 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schönauer Greek is a 6.5 mm rifle cartridge used in the Mannlicher-Schönauer rifle...
, 6.5×53mm Dutch Mannlicher, 6.5×52mm Carcano and 6.5×50mm Arisaka.
Development
Early ammunition was loaded with a 10.1 gramGram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
(156 grain
Grain (measure)
A grain is a unit of measurement of mass that is nominally based upon the mass of a single seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat and barley grains were part of the legal definition of units of mass. However, there is no evidence of any country ever...
) long round-nosed bullet (B-projectile) with a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s (2300 ft/s), while later rounds (from 1941 onwards) used a 9.1 gram (140 grain) spitzer
Spitzer (bullet)
A spitzer, also commonly referred to as a spire point bullet, is an aerodynamic bullet design used in most intermediate and high-powered rifle cartridges...
bullet (D-projectile) with a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s (2625 ft/s).
Norway
The 6.5×55mm cartridge was used by Norway in the Krag-JørgensenKrag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
rifle and in the Madsen machine gun
Madsen machine gun
The Madsen was a light machine gun developed by Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schoubue and proposed for adoption by Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War and adopted by the Danish Army in 1902...
, as well as in several prototype self-loading rifles.
Sweden
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
, the Model 1896
Swedish Mauser
"Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5x55mm cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. These are the m/94 carbine, m/96 long rifle, m/38 short rifle and m/41 sniper...
and Model 1938 rifles, the Ag m/42
Ag m/42
The Automatgevär m/42 is a Swedish semi-automatic rifle in limited use by the Swedish Army from 1942 until the 1960s.-History:...
semi-automatic rifle
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
. It also used in several light and medium machine guns such as the Browning BAR, Kg/1940 Light machine gun
Kg/1940 Light machine gun
The Kg m/40 was a light machine gun used by the Swedish Army during the 1940s. A small number were also manufactured in Germany by Knorr-Bremse for the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, under the name MG35/36A, though they were mostly called just "the Knorr-Bremse".The KG/1940 loaded its magazine from the...
, Bren Gun, FN MAG
FN MAG
The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...
, Browning M1917, Browning M1919 and Schwarzlose. The FN MAG was eventually returned to it's original 7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...
calibre when the Swedish armed forces switched to that cartridge as its standard during the post-World War II era.
Sporting use
The 6.5×55mm cartridge is highly esteemed as a hunting round in Europe, Scandinavia, and North America. It is used for harvesting most kind of game including reindeerReindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
and moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
in Scandinavia, while in Canada and the United States it is used for taking deer and other medium-sized game. Sportsmen who favor the round laud the combination of low recoil coupled with the cartridge's inherent accuracy and superb penetrative qualities.
European rifle makers including Sauer, Blaser CZ
CZ
CZ is an acronym or abbreviation for:* Cubic zirconia, a common simulation diamond* Czech Republic, ISO 3166 and obsolete NATO digram...
, Steyr
Steyr Mannlicher
Steyr Mannlicher is a firearms manufacturer based in the city of Steyr, Austria. Originally a part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch manufacturing conglomerate, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken in 1990.-History:...
and Mauser
Mauser
Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
offer sporting rifles chambered for this cartridge, as does the Finnish arms manufacturer SAKO/Tikka, while ammunition manufacturers such as Norma
Norma (company)
Norma Precision is a Swedish manufacturer of ammunition located in Åmotfors, in the province of Värmland, just 20 km of the Norwegian border. It is commonly referred to as simply Norma.- History :...
, Lapua
Nammo
Nammo short for Nordic Ammunition Group is a Norwegian/Finnish military industry manufacturer of ammunition. The company has subsidiaries in Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and Canada. The company is owned 50/50 by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and...
and Hornady
Hornady
Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition and handloading components, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.The company was founded by Joyce Hornady in 1949 and is currently run by his son Steve Hornady who took over after his father's death in a plane crash in 1981.Hornady...
offer loadings of the 6.5×55mm round that are designed for use only in modern hunting rifles that can tolerate higher chamber pressures. These modern loadings should never be used in older military rifles.
Sauer 200 STR
The Sauer 200 STR is a bolt action rifle mostly used as a target/competition firearm.The weapon was approved for use in Det Frivillige Skyttervesen from 1. January 1990 in Caliber 6.5 x 55 mm, 7.62 x 51 mm NATO and .22 Long Rifle...
(Scandinavian Target Rifle).
The 6.5×55mm cartridge was widely used in biathlon
Biathlon
Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...
competition until 1975 (when it was replaced by the .22 Long Rifle
.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...
(.22 LR) rimfire cartridge), because of its inherent accuracy and historical popularity with the Scandinavian nations who have dominated this sport.
Chamber differences
Due to different interpretations of the standard, i.e. the standards of manufacturing using maximum chamber in the Krag vs. minimum chamber in the Swedish Mauser, a small percentage of the ammunition produced in Norway required a heavy push on the bolt handle to chamber in the Swedish Mauser rifle. After the rumor of this difference first surfaced in 1900, it was examined by the Swedish military. They declared the difference to be insignificant, and that both the Swedish and Norwegian ammunition was within the specified parameters laid down for the 6,5×55. Despite this finding, the Swedish weapon-historian Josef Alm repeated the rumor in a book in the 1930s, leading many to believe that there was a significant difference.The CIP
Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives
The Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives is an international organisation whose members are 14 states, mainly European....
MAP for the 6.5 × 55 is 380 MPa (55000 PSI). SAAMI
Saami
Saami or SAAMI can stand for:*Sami people*Sami languages*Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute...
MAP for this cartridge is 46,000 CUP
Copper units of pressure
Copper units of pressure or CUP, and the related lead units of pressure or LUP, are terms applied to pressure measurements used in the field of internal ballistics for the estimation of chamber pressures in firearms. These terms were adopted by convention to indicate that the pressure values were...
or 51000 PSI
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
. All Swedish Mauser actions were proof-tested with a single 6.5 × 55mm proof load developing approximately 55,000 CUP (66,000 psi).